Protector of Baltanders
by BeneathTheTrees
Summary: Azalie has become the Bloody August, Krylancelo has become Orphen, and Wyvern has become Orphen's closest friend. Together Oprphen and Wyvern looks for a way to return Azalie back to her true form, but he is also after the Sword of Baltanders. He knows that he has a connection with both Orphen and the sword, and he wonders if one day Orphen will leave him behind and alone once more
1. Chapter 1

It was a particularly sunny day when their journey began.

Birds sang, wind howled, other animals made themselves known as well in the early morning. Not a cloud in the sky.

Three males stood by the edge of the dirt road,a glass bottle perched on a collapsed dirt column in front of them. The one clad in a long sleeved dark purple and black shirt clasped shut at the collar with a shiny red and gold gem pin, hummed softly as he sat down on a mound of compacted dirt, creating a makeshift rock. His bright red eye not covered by half-mask never left the back of the tanned black haired male standing a few feet in front of him, hair blowing gently in the breeze as the ends of the red clothe tied around his forehead did the same, although a bit more wildly. The black haired man's apprentice stood closer to him, watching as the man began to lift his hands.

A smile made its way onto the sitting male's lips as he watched his long time crush and friend begin to speak as the wind howled once more. "Let's play..." The black-haired male lifted his hands in front of him, "spin the bottle." With those words, a blinding purple light shot from his out reached hands, shooting the bottle into the air, but looking like it had exploded into apprentice gasped and the ruby-eyed male stood up, smiling more and clapping as he walked over. "Simple little spell, and the crowd goes crazy." The black-haired man smirked and turned to face the other two.

The ruby-eyed man nodded and chuckled softly as the apprentice spoke. "Yeah, but, Orphen, don't you think it was a bit too much?"

The black-haired male, now known as Orphen, clenched his fists in annoyance, "Master! You have to address me as Master!"

The apprentice put his hand on the back of his head and rubbed his sandy colored hair. "Okay, yeah, whatever, Master." He said with a sigh.

"Majic does have a point, Orphen." The ruby-eyed male spoke softly, resting a hand lightly on Orphen's shoulder as he used the hand marked on the side with red runes to fan away some of the lingering dust. "You could have at least made a cleaner shot. All this dust is irritating my eye." As if to make a point, he rubbed at his unmasked eye as it watered, irritated by the grains of dirt in the air.

Orphen scoffed softly and put his hands on his hips, walking the rest of the short distance to Majic. "Listen Majic, you have one shot to get into the Hall of Fang and like it or not, I'm it. Now why don't you just be a good little boy, keep your mouth shut, keep your eyes open, and learn from the master."

As if on cue, the glass bottle he had shot into the air landed a few feet away from them, causing the ruby-eyed male to snicker from how well it had been timed. Majic ran over, crouching down next to the bottle. "You missed, didn't you! You wanted to blow it up but you missed. It wasn't perfect, was it!"

"Who said I wanted to blow it up?" Orphen said as he began to walk away without waiting for either of the others. Majic ran after him when he noticed he was leaving, but ruby-eyes stayed behind, watching as the two walked off, lost in thought as he looked at Orphen. Orphen noticed how his friend's presence wasn't there and he turned, looking at the male. "Wyvern, snap out of it! We'll leave you behind at this rate!" He yelled, causing him to snap out of his daydream and run to catch up.

-Back in Town-

While Orphen took to talking to Majic's father and eating/drinking his usual ice cream float, Wyvern was helping the old tavern owner with the dishes quietly, listening as they talked. "I can polish him, but I can't promise he'll ever be as good a sorcerer as I am." Orphen shrugged slightly as he ate some ice cream from his drink, not particularly that interested in the conversation. Wyvern smiled and turned to face Orphen completely as he dried a plate with the small towel in his hands. "Oh come on, Orphen! If you can't do it, who could?"

"You could." Orphen stated plainly as Majic came back inside the tavern. Wyvern smiled, his eyes closing as he let out a gentle laugh.

"You know I don't want an apprentice. He's all yours, my friend." He turned back around after he spoke, letting them continue their discussion without him. Majic's father continued to express his doubts on the matter to the court magician.

"It's been two moons since you allegedly began to teach my son magic, and I've yet to see any results. Not a single spell!"

"Hey man, these things take time, and since it's taking longer than I thought, we're probably going to have to renegotiate the fee."

"About that fee..."

Wyvern heard Majic protest his father's reluctance and soon after he heard a glass shatter on impact with the floor. He heard Majic's father yell at his son, but he didn't register the words. He was lost in his thoughts again, slowly falling into the muted and hushed whispers that plagued his mind since he was young. He continued to dry the dishes like nothing was wrong, which really, nothing was. He vaguely heard Orphen reverse time on the mess and it seemed to renew Majic's father's interest in having his son learn magic, so he ended the conversation on a happy note of money possibly well spent. He clapped Wyvern on the back, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Hey, Wyvern, thanks for the help but I can take over from here." With a nod, the half-masked male set the last dish in his hand in its proper place and handed the towel to the tavern owner, before turning to look at Orphen and Majic.

Orphen was drinking out of the newly fixed, fallen drink.

Wyvern sighed and shook his head when he saw what Orphen was doing, Majic blinking his eyes and staring at Orphen curiously. Orphen stared at them confused, blinking once. "What's with you two?"

Majic pointed at the drink. "I-Isn't that dirty? I mean, it was on the floor."

Orphen immediately spit out the drink and Wyvern shook his head again, before walking out of the tavern and heading to their usual destination; the tree in front of the Everlasting's mansion. Orphen and Majic weren't far behind.

When they got there, Orphem went up into the tree first, the branch they usually stayed on was thick enough for two and low to the ground so a jump from it wouldn't break anything. It was easy enough to climb into, as well. Wyvern followed, getting comfortable against the trunk of the tree as he sat down, leg dangling precariously over the edge. Orphen chose to stand, while he chose to sit. It was their usual way of scouting, at least it had been for the past year. Majic hung out around the base of the tree, complaining about not doing anything and not having done anything except seen Orphen shoot a bottle into the air, as well as wondering why they were even there.

After a few hours, Majic was still complaining.

"Majic, will you shut up already!" Wyvern snapped, tearing his gaze away from the sword hung on the mantle of the main room in the mansion to glare down at the male. Seeing the shocked look of the younger boy's face caused the glare to soften and soon enough, disappear. He looked up at Orphen. "Just tell him why you here already, would you? His complaining is beginning to hurt my head. Besides, I can do this myself."

Orphen laughed and shook his head. "Wyvern, I'm just as important to this as you are. Besides, all we are doing is birdwatching?" Wyvern gave him a look as if to say, 'Birdwatching? Really?'

"Birdwatching? I haven't seen a single bird and we've been here for hours!"

"If you would just shut up, Majic, then maybe you'd see the birds!" As soon as Orphen spoke, a Cuckoo bird comes flying into the tree, and he points up to it. "Aha! See, look, a starling!" Wyvern laughed as the bird made a "cuckoo" sounding chirp, then proceed to poop on Orphen's head.

"Oh yeah, I've heard of that. Must be the rare Starling Cuckoo." Majic teased, causing Wyvern to laugh even harder, gripping his stomach as it began to hurt a little from how hard he was laughing. Orphen ignored them both and went back to watching the house, waiting for the signal from one of the troll brothers that worked in the house. Once Wyvern's laughter died away, so did he.

The first thing he noticed was that on the balcony, was the oldest daughter of the Everlasting family; Mariabella Everlasting. As soon as she looked their way after brushing her hair back from the wind, she quickly turned and went back inside.

Majic, who saw this interaction, gasped and grinned, tapping a fist into his open palm. "Ohh, _birdwatching_!"

Wyvern nearly choked on air and stared at him with wide eyes at his insinuation.

"It's not what you think." Orphen clarified for them both.

"Uh, hey, it's not my business, Master." Majic teased, thinking that Orphen was lying. Wyvern frowned at the idea that they were peeping on the girl. "It's really not, Majic." He said, still looking down on him before turning his gaze to Orphen. He would know when he needed to look back at the house. Right now, though, he wanted to admire Orphen, and make sure his friend wasn't overworking himself.

At around sunset, Wyvern heard the familiar voices in his head get louder as the small troll with glasses, Dortin, unsheathed the sword inside the house, causing him to close his eye. The voices seemed to be urgent this time, almost louder than usual. The battle must be close.

 ** _The girl! The girl who changed, she's coming, she's coming!_**

 ** _She's crazy, crazy! The evil creature is her true intentions!_**

 ** _Let us end her! Fight, fight!_**

The voices quieted quickly, but not to the muted dull they usually turn when the sword is sheathed completely, meaning Dortin didn't close it all the way like Wyvern preferred, but he could deal with a slightly louder volume. It wouldn't harm him at least.

Dortin came outside and signaled to them, because a moment after the voices dulled Wyvern felt Orphen lightly kick his leg, causing him to open his eyes once again. "Wyvern, you okay? Come on, time to go." Behind the usual carefree tone in his voice, Wyvern could hear the worry. "Yeah, I'm okay... Listen, Orphen, I think it's almost time." Slowly, he got to his feet before jumping off the branch and landing on the ground.

"What? But Dortin gave the signal that everything was normal!"

"Did you happen to forget that I'm the protector of that sword?!" He glared slightly and placed his hands on his hips as he watched Orphen jump down next. "Wyvern, you and I both know that's not true. I swear, whatever got that into your head?"

Wyvern growled in frustration as his friend passed, clenching his hands into fists and gritting his teeth. After all these years, it appears he still wasn't believed.

Wyvern left the tavern early the next morning, before the sun was even truly up. The sky was just beginning to change from black into the dull, extra early morning grey as he made his way to the tree for his usual spying. He stared at the sword, letting his mind wander and letting the voice of the sword drown his conscious. The voices seemed more agitated than they did the previous day, and immediately he knew the battle was soon.

"We need that sword back..." He whispered, eye staring blankly at the mansion as his hand, tattooed on the side with runes, lightly touched the gray mask covering the scarred half of his face.

"Have you been here all morning?" Wyvern jumped at the sound of Orphen's voice, his cheeks flaring red and his heart thudding against his ribcage as he looked up to see Orphen looking down on him, his hands tucked into the pockets in his black sleeveless jacket. In response to the question, Wyvern wordlessly shrugged, turning his attention back to the mansion.

Orphen thanked Majic as he was handed a pair of binoculars, and after a few moments, Wyvern once again spoke up. "I really do think she'll come for it today... We need that sword."

His old friend chuckled and glanced at Wyvern. "Relax, will ya? All it is, is stress causing you to hallucinate those voices. Like when you were younger." He returned his gaze to the sword behind the binoculars, and Wyvern once again grit his teeth. "I'm not imagining them, Orphen! It's the sword making them! Why can't you ever just believe me?!" He snapped, looking up at Orphen with a hurt expression. "She'll-" A shrill scream from the house makes its way over to the three males, cutting off Wyvern's train of thought.

"Did you guys hear something?" Majic asked, before gasping and backing up as a blonde girl, younger than Mariabella, in a dark blue dress came rushing out of mansion, a sword tight in her hands. When she got closer, Wyvern gasped, his eyes locked on the sword in her hands. He completely ignored her yelling about Orphen being a pervert and he stood. "Orphen, that's..."

The girl unsheathed the sword and the voices of it start screaming in Wyvern's head, causing him to scream and clutch it, nearly falling off the branch if it hadn't been for Orphen steadying him and pulling him close.

 ** _Free! Free! The sheath is gone!_**

 ** _Let's fight! Fight!_**

 ** _Attack the girl! Unworthy! Unworthy!_**

 ** _The beast is coming! Give us release!_**

"Wyvern?" Orphen whispered, holding his friend close as he shook in his arms. If his head hadn't felt like it was about to split open, he knew he would have been blushing from how close he was to Orphen. "Please, sheath the sword!" He yelled at the girl, his hands weaving into his long black hair and tugging at it slightly. The girl was momentarily stunned, clearly confused.

"Look, honey, why don't you put the sword down before somebody gets hurt." Orphen said sternly, looking over to her before looking back at Wyvern. His eyes widened at what he saw. Even though Wyvern's hands were covered by his hair, the red runes along the sides of his hands and trailing down his arms underneath his sleeves, were flickering a faint red color, and his friend really did look like he was in great pain, his visible eye crying out for him while also looking lost in his thoughts. Carefully, he lifted the shaking boy into his arms and jumped from the tree as the girl lifted the sword in front of herself, the runes on the middle of the sword glinting in the sun.

Wyvern moved away from Orphen the moment his feet touched the ground, his head clearing enough to move his body to move away from the two and to cause his face to burn a dark red. This was a time where he wished he had a full mask. The voices seemed to calm down a bit the longer they were unsheathed. He looked over at them again the moment the two troll brothers come running up, the more annoying one, Vulcan, donning a bucket for a helmet and a mop for a sword and yelling "Touché!"

"What are you doing?" He asked, not in the mood for one of Vulcan's idiotic schemes.

"You mean en guarde." Orphen rubbed the back of his head and his voice showed he was just as annoyed.

"Don't talk sword fighting semantics with me, you pervert!" Vulcan twirled the mop in his hands and brandished it like a sword. "Just put up your dukes and fight like a man! C'mon c'mon you chicken!"

"I had no part of this, Orphen, Wyvern, I swear to you." Dortin said with defeat, muttering a soft disappointment in his brother. Wyvern waved them off and locked eyes on the sword again, walking closer. The girl took a step back, and he held out his hand. "Sword. Now."

At the sound of an explosion, the girl and Wyvern turned to see Dortin and Vulcan be launched into the air by Orphen. The girl stared in shock. "You... How did..." As Orphen stepped closer she snapped back into focus and once again readied the sword. "Stay back!"

"Don't worry about them, they're stronger than you think." Orphen scolded with a smile as he stopped next to Wyvern, turning his head in the direction of the house.

'He must not realize the sword is right here...' Wyvern thought to himself, hating how it seemed he still wasn't believed.

He looked over at the girl when he hears the sword hit the ground, only to see her collapsed in defeat. If he hadn't been shocked to see the girl like this, he would have grabbed the sword while she was like that. "No! Okay. That's it. I'm cursed. Every guy I fall for turns out to be a loser." She cried, sniffling and being a little over dramatic overall.

"Hey, honey, I didn't know you cared about them that much. I can bring them back if you want!" Orphen looked just as confused as Wyvern felt.

"Wait a sec, hey, Cleao, is that you? You're back from boarding school already?" Majic finally spoke up as he came up from behind Orphen, shocked. The girl, apparently Cleao Everlasting, turned to face him and that was when Wyvern realized he had lost his chance at getting the sword the moment Majic accused Orphen of wanting to meet her.

"Yeah, well I don't need you playing matchmaker I can do that on my own just fine and secondly, she's not my type." At Orphen's words, Wyvern's chest tightened a little painfully and Cleao once again had the sword in her hands and pointed at Orphen.

Cleao's cheeks were dusted red as she glared a little. "Oh,I'm not your type, am I? Well let me tell you one thing, buster. If I had known your type, believe me I wouldn't have given you a second thought!" She sighed and the blush disappeared. "It's just that you looked so romantic standing on that tower, cape flowing, with the moonlight glowing behind you. But you turned out to be an immoral magician with bad fashion sense."

"Okay what is it going to take for you to realize that I am just not interested in you?"

Wyvern snickered as Cleao got in close to Orphen's face and screamed at him not to lie to her, making him more distraught. He was telling the truth.

"What, were you just looking at my wardrobe? Oh my god if you were just looking at my dress then you're a lot sicker than I thought you were."

At that, Wyvern burst into laughter, covering his mouth with his hand to try and hide his smile and muffle his laugh. His laughter was cut short by Cleao pointing the sword at him after screaming something about Majic being a peeping teen.

"What about you, huh? You think this is funny?!" Cleao growled. Wyvern chuckled and smirked.

"Sweetheart, I can assure you that we weren't peeping. And I can definitely assure you that if we were, you would not be one worth looking at. Now just drop the sword, leave it here, and go home, okay?" Orphen threw Majic his binoculars and both males stared at Wyvern's words, never having heard him sound so... Blunt (or rude towards a girl) before. "I don't supposed you would believe we were just bird watching?" Majic asked meekly, worried.

"You three keep this up and the only bird you'll see is the one I'm gonna flip ya!" It was then that Orphen noticed the sword, and he tensed. "Hey, put that down!' He and Wyvern moved away as she swung it at them, never getting a hit in on either of them.

The sky grew dark and filled with storm clouds, causing Wyvern to stop mid-dodge and get knicked on his arm. He hardly noticed it as he stared up at the sky in growing worry and fear. "Oh no..."

Letting out a cry, Cleao swung once more at Orphen, who caught the sword and disarmed it from her. The voices that had been hiding in the back of Wyvern's mind silenced the moment the sword was in Orphen's hands, at least for a little bit.

"Majic, you and Cleao need to get inside the mansion, now!" Wyvern yelled, rushing to Orphen's side. Majic and Cleao both looked confused.

"No matter what, you can't leave. I mean it, no matter what, got it?" Orphen's voice was just as demanding as Wyvern's tone had been. After a moment of hesitation, they nodded and left just as black lightning cut across the sky.

"You're hurt." Orphen stated, staring at the cut on Wyvern's arm.

"Hm?" Wyvern turned his gaze to where Orphen was looking and blinked. "Oh. Guess she knicked me when I got distracted."

"What?! Wyvern, you'll turn into-"

"No, I won't. As the protector of the Sword of Baltanders, I am unable to be transformed by wounds inflicted by the sword. If I wasn't, Orphen, then I would have already transformed into something like her." Wyvern glared slightly at Orphen, before turning towards where a crack sounded from, watching as an inter-dimensional rift appeared and ghosts started to spill out from it, wailing. The voices of the sword once again began to scream and the runes on Wyvern's hands and arms glowed again as the one the sword transformed began to appear.

 ** _She's come! She's here!_**

 ** _Kill her, kill her!_**

 ** _Foolish girl!_**

 ** _Stupid boy!_**

 ** _You can't turn back with us like this!_**

Wyvern clutched his head again, begging the voices to shut up and wishing he could tell them that he was going to take care of it. Orphen saw his pain and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Wyvern... If this is too much for you, you can go to the mansion and stay there with the others..."

Wyvern slapped his hand away and glared. "I'm fine! You can't do this alone, you need me to help fight here! I'm just as strong as you are, if not more so, so shut up and stop telling me to turn tail and run!" He growled, his red eye filled with determination and completely in the present, no far away look in it. Orphen know that if the gray mask wasn't there, then an equally red eye would match the one he was looking at. He chuckled and smiled. "Alright then."

Orphen turned to the ghosts and blasted them with air magic, tearing them into shreds as more black lightning streaked across the sky.

"Show us the one who commands you!" Wyvern yelled, blasting them with more wind magic and destroying them to pieces as they let out a final wail. From the clouds came a giant beast; clawed hands breaching the clouds first and then two piercing, glowing red eyes, as a roar erupted and shook the world.

The Bloody August has come.


	2. Chapter 2

As the Bloody August appeared from the clouds, Orphen held the sword tightly in his hands, and Wyvern heard the voices both scream in fear and break into mad laughter. He wondered how they managed to do that without giving him a splitting headache.

"Azalie!" Orphen yelled, trying to catch her attention. "Five years since we left the Tower of Fang, five long years we've searched for you!" Wyvern stepped forward and took the sword from Orphen, slamming it into the ground. "Azalie, we know you are after the Sword of Baltanders, but right now, I can promise you it is not enough to deliever you back to your true form! Please, give up, go!" He yelled, looking up into the dragon's glowing red eyes.

"Go, sleep for a time." Orphen spread his arms a little as if to show he meant no harm, that he was a welcoming presence that Azalie could trust, but Wyvern felt like something was wrong, a feeling of dread settling itself deep in his stomach and making him feel nauseous. Azalie felt different than she had five years ago, like her thirst for knowledge had morphed into a bloodlust running deeper than anyone would have realized. "Orphen, be careful...!" He warned, moving to be next to him in case something went wrong and he needed to cast a spell.

The Bloody August growled and opened her muzzle, a crimson blast of magic beginning to form and then being blasted at them and the sword. Together, Wyvern and Orphen put up shield spells, forming one large one that they shared the force of the blast from. "Stop it Azalie! You don't-" Orphen grunted from the effort and maybe even a little pain, "You don't want to do this!"

Wyvern looked at Orphen sadly for a moment before refocusing his attention on the shield and dragon in front of them. He couldn't tell him that Azalie probably did want to do this, choosing instead to say nothing and grit his teeth through the slowly forming strain of keeping the barrier up. Azalie roared up at the sky, and he looked up at her, already feeling desperate. "We don't want to hurt you! Please, don't make us!" He yelled, grunting slightly as the strain began to get to him. His eyes widened and too late did he realize that she had been forming another blast. "Orphen!"

They didn't have time to prepare a defense, the shield bursting as the second blast broke through with the lingering amount of the first. Wyvern was knocked back, the sleeves of his shirt singed away and bits of rock and stray blades of grass stung as they scrapped against him when he tumbled onto the ground. Quickly, he stood up and looked around the black clouds of smoke and dust that surrounded him, cursing himself for being stupid.

He rushed back towards the sword and put another shield in front of it as Azalie began stomping towards it, his mind wondering where Orphen was but the voices screaming at him to stop Azalie from getting the sword, and his conscious telling him to focus on protecting the sword and the town.

"I said get back, Azalie!" Wyvern made himself teleport next to Orphen when he saw the blue ring of light around Azalie, having managed to escape the blast before it went off. The sword was thrown from the ground and into Orphen's hand. "You couldn't have warned me that you were going to do that?" He said with a sigh before Orphen teleported above the Bloody August, the sword crossed over the top of his wrist as he cast a binding spell on her. Immediately, ice began to cover the dragon from her feet up.

Wyvern moved to stand next to him, guarding both him and the sword. He watched his friend, seeing the guilt etched on his face and feeling his heart break seeing him so distressed over this. Suddenly he sensed a blast of magic heading towards them and he swore under his breath, blocking the magic blow from hitting Orphen full force. However, both of them were knocked back and the bindings on the Bloody August fell away.

Seeing her chance to escpae, Azalie turned and began walking back into a rift once again, and when Wyvern snapped out of his daze he saw Orphen stumbling after her, begging her not to go. "Orphen, let her go!" He yelled at his friend, standing up painfully and rushing forward, the edges of his clothes smoking from the impact he had taken. "She'll return on her own time, I promise you!" He yelled as he reached him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Seeing the sadness in his eyes, Wyvern lowered his volume and his voice grew soft. "She's gone, Orphen." He watched as Orphen collapsed to his knees, the sword clanging to the ground a few feet behind them.

"She's gone again... I let her escape again..." Orphen murmured so only Wyvern could hear, his voice laced with despair while his face was mostly expressionless. Wyvern collapsed to his own knees in front of him and he hugged the male tightly as Cleao and Majic came running up. "It'll be okay, I swear to you." He whispered into Orphen's ear.

"Master, are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"Oh, don't baby him, he's just fine! I could hardly even call that a fight! I could have beat that dragon with my little finger, my little pinky." Vulcan unrightfully boasted, making Wyvern's anger flare. He moved away from Orphen and slowly stood, turning to face the troll. "Shut. Up. You know nothing you-"

"It wasn't me." Orphen's weak voice cut off Wyvern's insult, everyone turning to face him in shock from what he said.

"Childman." Wyvern whispered, looking at Orphen sadly.

"It was Childman's sorcery." Orphen still didn't lift his head, and Majic backed up quickly.

"Childman?! What are you saying, that you've got the entire faculty of the Tower of Fang fights against you?!" Orphen slammed his hands into the ground and lightly gripped the dirt, his arms shaking lightly. "What's between me and Childman is none of your business! He's been waiting for me, he's been waiting all year for this moment!" He grit his teeth and shut his eyes tightly. "Just like we have."

"Orphen, come on, he's just trying to help-"

"Who's side are you on, Wyvern?! He's against me and wants her dead just like everyone else!" The dark haired male snapped violently at his friend. Wyvern flinched and his visible eye filled with hurt as he took a step back. "Do you think I'm like everyone else?" He asked softly as it began to pour a bone chilling ran. He felt drenched, but he couldn't feel the chill. The deafening silence he was met with was what chilled him to the bone.

"...I see." He whispered, his eyes hidden by the mask and his hair. He smiled a little sadly as he stumbled over to the sword and picked it up. "I guess the past six years have meant nothing to you." Orphen lifted his head when he heard the sword be picked up, staring at his friend. "I'll be taking this back. Cleao, this is no longer your sword. Your father never should have given it to you anyway." Their eyes met and Orphen saw, through the rain that was creating tracks in the dust covering Wyvern's face, the tears spilling over in the watery ruby eye. "Bye, Orphen." His voice shook as he disappeared, and the moment he was gone, Orphen realized that he had made a terrible mistake.

Wyvern appeared again outside the hotel, staring up at the pitch black sky, trying to tell himself to stop crying. He let himself get soaked even further, clutching the Sword of Baltanders in his hands tightly, pressing it against his body to keep it close. For once, the voices were silent. Not gone for a brief moment, like they were when Orphen held the sword. No, they were silent of their own accord, as if sensing the pain and distress their protector was in.

 _"Wyvern, come here, please."_

 _An old man with a beard as white as snow and reaching his waist beckoned a small child with bright red eyes closer to him. Nodding, the child left his small game with rocks and came running over. "Yes, Grandpa?" He asked innocently, taking the old man's hands in his own. The old man smiled and stroked the younger Wyvern's hair._

 _"You know what you are, yes?"_

 _The child nodded. "Yes. I am the protector of the Sword of Baltanders. Just like you were." The old man wheezed out a laugh and nodded. "Yes, just like I was. Wyvern, my boy, do you know what is going to happen when you are the protector?"_

 _"You said that the legend is most likely going to happen when I'm the protector. The one who can control the sword and will save the world from a monster!" The boy's eyes lit up in excitement and adoration for the hero he had heard all about from the legend. The old man once again smiled, but the light didn't reach his eyes. "Yes... Yes, that will happen. But I must tell you, it won't be easy. You will face many hardships. I want you to promise me that you will be strong. Don't let the small things harm you. I know how sensitive you are. Promise me that you won't run away from your problems."_

 _"I promise, Grandpa!"_

 _"That's a good boy. Now, can you go and get dear ol' grandpa something to eat? The townspeople should be passing by in about a half hour."_

 _"Okay!"_

Wyvern blinked when a raindrop splashed into his eyes, making him lower his head and heading inside the hotel. He rubbed his eyes to try and get rid of their puffiness from crying, feeling a little ashamed he had already managed to break his promise. He passed Majic's father without a word, fixing the damage the attacks from Bloody August caused with a spell for him. Majic's father noticed the tears and the red irritation around his visible eye, but when he tried to reach out and ask what happened, he was brushed off and never managed to get a word in as Wyvern ran to his room and locked the door behind him.

"Stupid idiot... Childman only wants to help! I know he does! Just because I..." He trailed off, grumbling to himself as he sat in his bed, resting the sword across his lap. "I thought these last six years actually meant something... Or proved something! That idiot!" Wyvern wiped the tears and rain from his face, his scarred eye stinging from the struggle to create tears while his visible eye continued to well up tears and let them fall freely to drop off his chin. He lifted the sword up slightly and hugged it tightly, finding little comfort in the familiar feel of the metal and runes carved into it. "It's okay you don't return my feelings, but... Why don't you understand that I really am different from others?" He whispered into thin air, shivering as he didn't bother to dry himself. He laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, slowly letting himself fade away from consciousness as cold and a slowly dulling pain started to flood his body and cause it to grow heavy.

Wyvern was snapped back into reality the moment the voices began shrieking.

 ** _She stole them! She stole the girls!_**

 ** _Save them! Save them!_**

 ** _Hurry, Hurry!_**

He knew who they were talking about all ready, and he stood up with the sword in his hands, rushing downstairs to find Majic or Orphen. "Majic! Majic, where are you?!" He looked around and ran to the place he had a feeling Majic was moping up right about now and sighed in relief when he saw he was there. "Majic, we have a problem!"

"What's wrong?" He stopped mopping and stood up straight looking at him with worry.

"The Bloody August took Cleao and Marriabella!"


	3. Chapter 3

Wyvern left for the mansion, wanting to check on Mrs. Everlasting and make sure she was okay, while Majic went to go get Orphen, who had apparently stepped out not that long ago to do something with some man he knew. He had an idea who it was.

He stopped in front of the once beautiful mansion, staring in shock at the damaged caused on the home. The balcony and the wall it was attached to were both gone, crushed into rubble, allowing the freshly humid air to invade its inner sanctum. He ran inside and up the stairs to the room, seeing Mrs. Everlasting collapsed to the floor, crying.

"Mrs. Everlasting! Are you hurt anywhere?" He asked, rushing forward and kneeling in front of her. He heard footsteps rush up the stairs and knew that Orphen and Majic had arrived, soon joining him next to the crying mother, although they were standing.

"Why? What have you done to me?! You said that if I gave you the sword, nothing would happen! I gave you the sword and now my daughters have been taken!" She wailed, facing the three males as she spoke, before lowering her head as she sobbed. Orphen clenched his fists and grit his teeth, growling softly in anger. A purple glow begins to come from the wall next to them, and Majic calls Orphen's attention to it. Wyvern read the message, and looked down at the sword in his hands, the runes glows faintly.

Azalie wanted the sword in exchange for the girls.

"Get this out of my sight. " Orphen nearly growled, his voice low and quiet. Wyvern's eyes widened when he saw Orphen's hands begin to raise.

"Orphen, wait!"

"Master, no!"

"I said get back!" Orphen blasted the wall, destroying the message along with it.

"What did it say?" asked, still not looking at them again. Majic relayed the message to her as Wyvern once again knelt by her side.

" , I can not apologize enough for the pain my selfishness has caused you. I was the one who gave your husband that sword for safekeeping. I never imagined that the dragon would take your girls in her attempt for the sword..." He said softly, looking down at the ground. "I promise you, I'll get them back."

He stood up and glanced at Orphen, giving him a small nod before walking out of the room and down the steps. He could hear Orphen and Majic following him not too far behind him.

Now that they were back at the tavern/hotel, a tense silence fell across the four males left. Wyvern sat in a chair at the bar, a few seats away from Orphen, who was drinking his usual ice cream float. Majic was moping or sweeping like he usually was, and Majic's father was busy cleaning the dishes again. Finally, Majic broke the silence.

"Um, Master, will the Bloody August kill Cleao and Mariabella if it doesn't get the sword?"

"Yeah." Orphen said softly, before sipping his drink again.

"But, you said you can't let it have the sword."

"I did."

"But you can't just let them die!"

Wyvern spoke up next, looking over at the two. "I have a plan... I could distract Azalie with the sword, while Orphen goes and gets the girls, then we can focus on binding Azalie together. That is... If your willing to trust me." He said softly, his voice having lost all previous warmth. Now, it sounded hollow and sad, and Orphen could hear it no matter how much he wished he didn't. It made him feel even worse. Majic just watched between the two, noticing the hurt between both of them.

"If you don't want anything to do with me, that's fine. Just tell me and I'll go. But my _god_ , Orphen! At least help me save the girls!" Wyvern begged, his voice cracking slightly.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Majic asked, seeing how Wyvern's knuckles turned white as he gripped the sheathed sword tightly.

"Yeah, there is." Orphen said as he stood up. "Find me a spell to get me out of this mess." Orphen walked away , heading towards the rooms. "Where are you going?"

"To sleep. Or at least, try to." With that, Orphen left, and the sound of his room's door slamming shut reached the three still in the tavern. Wyvern sighed and he placed his head in his hands.

"When are you going to make up with him, Wyvern?" Majic asked softly, walking over to him.

"Whenever he decides. If he wishes for me to, I'll never set foot in his line of sight ever again. I'll do anything for him if it meant I was helping him." Wyvern felt a hand press onto his head, making him lift it from his hands and look at Majic's father. He had a small, bitter smile on his face as he set a hot drink that looked much like hot chocolate in front of him. "Here. It'll help you feel better."

Wyvern stared at him for a moment before smiling weakly. "Thank you. Just the gesture makes me feel a lot better." He said softly, taking the warm mug in his hands and carefully sipping at the hot drink. The taste of warm milk and sweet rich chocolate soothed his parched throat, and he sighed in content as he felt his body relax and calm his mind.

"Wyvern, can I ask you something?" Majic asked, resting against the mop again.

Wyvern glanced at him and once again sipped at the drink. "What do you want to ask?"

"Well... What exactly... Um..." Majic looked up and put a finger to his chin in thought. "Never mind. I think I'll ask later." He shrugged lightly and Wyvern chuckled. "Yeah, okay. Do whatever you like." They were quiet as Wyvern drank from the mug, a calm silence filling the tavern aside for the sound of water splashing off the dishes as they were cleaned.

The next time someone spoke, it was Majic's father.

"You know, Wyvern, whatever is going on between you and Orphen, it'll work itself out. I can tell you that he regrets saying whatever he did."

"Thanks, but... It's what he didn't say that hurt me." He sighed and finished off the last of his drink, setting the mug down. "I... Do think you are right, though. At least a little." He smiled and stood up. "I'll be going to bed now. Thank you so much for the drink." He said softly, nodding his thanks as he grabbed the Sword of Baltanders and went up to his room.

Stepping into the bathroom, he rested the sword against the wall and began to take off his clothes, starting with his loose jacket. He unclasped the ruby gem from where it held the cloak closed and set it down on the sink, then let the baggy black material fall from his back and shoulders, then down his arms. He pulled it off the rest of the way and then took off the form fitting, purple long sleeve shirt he wore beneath the jacket. His thin, pale body was covered in scars. Wyvern hated his body. He hated how easily the scars could be seen, how he never managed to gain back those last few pounds that would make him go from seeing his ribs to a healthy skinny, how no matter what he did, he could never get rid of the memories that haunt his skin and cause him to need to wear the mask. He hated how easily his body broke, like it had been snapped in half like a sword used too many times on a rock surface.

He started to fill up the bath with warm water, wanting to wash away all the dirt still caked to his skin and get rid of the chill in his body that the warm drink wasn't able to dissipate completely. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed as he waited from the bath to fill, not wanting to remove his pants or mask until he really had to, in case someone was going to come in. He took off his shoes and set them by the door, before walking back over to the mirror in the bathroom, staring at his face. He traced the pattern on the mask, before sighing and walking to the bath, stopping the water flow and taking off his pants and boxers, then stepping into the water. He still didn't take off his mask.

After his bath, he dried off and put his clothes back on, stopping by the mirror again as he picked up the sword. After staring for a few minutes, this time, he did take off the mask, showing scarred skin all along his cheek and up to his temple. The ruby eye that was there had no vision; it was cloudy and dull, a long scratch clear across his cornea and the scratch continuing past into his skin. He felt like crying when he saw the damage done to his face, not sad so much about the scars, but the fact that he was blind in that eye. It had taken him almost a year to relearn how to do things with only monocular cues. What he hated the most was that he was slowly looking the correct picture of the things in front of him; his memory was slowly fading of what the world on the left side of his face looked like. He would turn his head to renew the picture, but then it would seem tilted and distorted and it just wasn't the same. Shaking his head slightly he walked over to the bed, and set his mask and the sword next to him, falling asleep after a few minutes.

Wyvern awoke to the next morning to someone knocking on his door. "Hold on, please wait a moment!" He called, putting his mask on with ease and grabbing the sword, his clothes already on. He opened the door and froze slightly when he saw Orphen, who couldn't meet his eyes. "...Good Morning, Orphen." He nearly whispered, moving aside to let him in.

"Can we talk?" Orphen asked, moving into the room, still not meeting Wyvern's eyes. Wyvern looked down a little and nodded. "Yeah, sure... What is it you want to talk about?"

"I'm..." Orphen ran a hand through his hair and sighed as he sat on the bed, "I'm sorry... I should never have done that to you. I know that you are on my side, and you wouldn't believe how grateful I am for that." He said softly, looking up at Wyvern. "I guess... See you still talk to Childman and act like he's trying to help us, I guess I was just stressed and I couldn't really see your point of view... I remember how you were close to him, even though you had only been there for about a year."

"It hurts that you don't trust me. You don't even listen to what I say. I'm not mentally ill. I need you to believe me when I say the voices I hear are from the sword." Wyvern said softly, crossing his arms over his chest. "But, we can focus on that later. Right now, I just need to know one thing. Am I allowed to stay by your side, and help you free Azalie from this curse?" He waited for an answer, trying to ignore the voices that were talking nonstop to him.

Orphen smiled and stood up, wrapping an arm around Wyvern's shoulders. "Of course! So, this means we're cool, right?"

Wyvern smiled and hugged Orphen tightly, burying his face in his chest, happy that Orphen still wanted him around. "Yeah. Yeah, we're cool." He pulled away when he felt he was making Orphen uncomfortable, and he took his hand, walking out of the room. "Now, how about we go save the girls?"

-A few hours later-

Wyvern was told to meet Orphen at the lake with the tilted tower around sunset, and when he got there, he could honestly say he was not expecting to see the girls attempting to climb down the tower from the very top. He grit his teeth as the voices shrieked again as the Bloody August roared, and he was momentarily dazed by how loud they were from inside the sheath.

He looked up when he heard a scream, and bit his lip when he saw Cleao holding Mariabella up by her wrist, both of them on the verge of falling towards the water and to their possible deaths. "Hurry, Orphen!" He murmured, moving closer in case Orphen wasn't there to help them. He saw that the Bloody August was getting ready to land on top of the tower and he unsheathed the sword, gritting his teeth even harder so he didn't cry out from pain.

"Azalie! Look here, I have the sword!" He yelled, but it fell on deaf ears as the dragon landed on the tower, tail lashing out and destroying the side of the tower as the rest crumbled under her weight. He heard the girls and, was that Vulcan and Dortin?, screaming as they all fell, causing him to curse. Even Azalie had started to fall.

He was about to rush forward and help, when he saw Orphen appear and pull the girls close, floating in the air as the dragon and the trolls crashed into the water below. He cheered and clapped, rushing to the shoreline. "Great timing, Orphen!" He yelled, before going to be in Azalie's line of sight as Cleao and Mariabella escaped. He held the unsheathed sword out in front of him. "You want this, right, Azalie?"

Azalie growled and began taking those ground shuddering steps towards him, and when she got close enough she wouldn't be able to get to the wall of the tower before him, he threw the sword past her like a javelin, watching as it stuck in the wall. Roaring, Azalie began to turn around to get the sword, giving Orphen the chance to bind her completely.

When she was sealed, Wyvern let out the breath he didn't know he was holding and ran over to Orphen, wading in the water. "You did it!" He cheered after Orphen had mumbled an apology to Azalie, hugging his friend tightly. It was short lived, though, because a blast of magic was heading straight towards Azalie. Quickly, Wyvern used a spell to appear in front of her, creating a barrier. "Stop it, Childman!" He yelled, grunting slightly in pain as the wounds he had forgotten to heal from the last battle began to burn once again.

"Come out and face us, you coward!" Orphen yelled from his place as he joined Wyvern a moment later.

"Greetings, my old friends." Childman said softly, from his spot on top of the rubble. His hair was pulled back in the low ponytail it always was, and he was dressed in the black robes from the Tower of Fang. Behind him, stood a younger male around Wyvern and Orphen's age with pink hair and freckle covered cheeks. Hartia, their friend and fellow apprentice from the Tower of Fang.

"You were my teacher, never my friend!" Orphen said with a small growl.

"The power of Fang is absolute!"

"Not your power! Your self-importance is, your arrogance is, your-"

"Honor?" Childman cut in, staring down at them emotionlessly.

"Enough! Childman, he's bound Azalie! She'll never harm anyone again!" Wyvern yelled to stop them from arguing. He motioned to Orphen and Azalie as he spoke, one hand resting on his side where the pain was forming. Childman looked at him sadly. "Do you really believe that, young protector?"

Orphen looked at Wyvern in confusion, watching as he shook his head.

"...No. No, I don't. He's not strong enough, and something has changed inside Azalie... But still! She is bound, and that is all that matters! Why destroy the binds?"

"Behold how easily your bonds can be broken."

Both young sorcerer's eyes widened as cracking could be heard from behind them, and the dragon broke from her bonds.

Wyvern turned back around at the sound of another magic blast. "Wait, Childman!" He grunted as he attempted to counter the spell, only for them to collide and knock him back, smoke covering his sight. "Wyvern!" Orphen rushed over as Wyvern collided with the ground, hissing in pain as he clutched his wounded side.

The voices in the sword were screaming and begging to be let go as the Bloody August called the sword to her, turning it around in the air numerous times as she angled it to pierce her.

Wyvern winced as he sat up, clutching his head and covering his ears. "Azalie, stop! It won't work!"

Azalie roared in pain as the sword pierced her.

"Azalie!" Orphen yelled, looking at her, but his face showing anger at Childman.

Her body began to mutate further, arms becoming longer and misshapen, wings breaking and tearing. Wyvern clutched his head as the sword seemed to scream in pain and cheer at the same time, as if the transformation was hurting them, too.

Orphen stood slowly and spread his arms open. "Azalie, do you see? The power that is within the sword can not be commanded by you or I. You can't be returned to your true form with the sword alone. You can't." His voice was soft, almost as if he was telling a child to admit defeat. In a way, he was. Azalie roared and flapped her wings, soaring high into the sky against all of Orphen's protests. The sword came tumbling down and lodged itself at Wyvern's feet in the water.

"Just as when you were my pupils, rebellious and easily fooled. Such a reckless use of awesome potential." Orphen tensed as Childman and Hartia appeared behind them. "Sorry, Childman... I'm still working on it." Wyvern whispered, not turning to face them.

"I will return Azalie to her true self, and you can't stop me." Orphen and Wyvern watched as they passed, Orphen glaring as Wyvern just seemed sad.

When they were gone, Orphen bent down and helped Wyvern to his feet, using magic to heal the wound for him. "You going to be okay?" He asked softly, watching as he helped Wyvern to the sword and pulled it from the ground. He noticed that he had that far away look in his eyes again, but he still managed to nod. "Yeah... I'll be fine." He smiled and sheared the sword, before moving out of Orphen's arms. "Let's go back. I want to sleep."

The morning the following day, Wyvern helped Majic load the wagon, staying quiet as Orphen and Majic's father talked. Wyvern smiled as he got into the back of the wagon, sitting almost directly behind Majic and Orphen. Majic said his heartfelt goodbye to his father, and they were off. Wyvern waved goodbye as they passed, not one for vocal goodbye, much preferring a smile and a wave. When they were just out of town, Majic asked Orphen what it was they were going to do next.

"First, we get back _my_ sword from those small, annoying, trolls!" Wyvern growled in frustration at the thought, annoyed he had let his guard down and allowed Vulcan the chance to grab the sword and flee, Dortin not far behind. Although, Orphen could see a clarity in his eyes that was only there when it seemed they weren't near the sword, and it made him wonder if Wyvern really was telling the truth about some sort of connection between the sword and him.

"Can I ask you a question, Master?"

"Shoot."

"Why do you keep hanging around those two?"

Orphen sighed and shook his head a little. "It's a long story, but... Let's just say..." He turned to face the back of the wagon, and Wyvern snickered slightly when he realized their little stowaway had been found. "I seem to attract an undesirable element!" He yelled, and Cleao popped out from her hiding place.

"Cleao!" Majic gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, it's like..." She paused, trying to come up with a viable excuse. She clapped her hands and held up her index finger as if she found one. "By all rights, the Sword of Baltanders still belongs to me, so I'm coming along to make sure you three get a return on my investment."

Wyvern scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest and closing his eyes. "Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but your father never actually bought the sword from me. I just gave it to him for safe keeping, so, technically by all rights, the sword is still _my_ sword!"

Cleao started fumbling form words as even Majic claimed that wasn't why she was here, before she burst into fake sobs and covered her face with her hands. "Oh, ever since that awful dragon kidnapped me I've been so afraid and no one can protect me like you two, I'm-" Her tine returned to normal as she peeked through her fingers to see the boys' reactions, "so frightened."

"I guess we could use a team mascot." Orphen said, his eyes closed. Wyvern chuckled and nodded at his words, shrugging. "She's already here."

Cleao glared at them before sighing and standing, walking over to them with a slightly forced smile. "Hey, let's just put all of that behind us. Start with a clean slate, okay?"

"No way"

"I don't think so." They answered immediately.

Cleao looked shocked for a second and smiled weakly. "Hey, uh, you... Listen, honestly I can be a really nice girl once you get to know me."

"No you can't." Orphen said, Wyvern nodding in agreement.

Cleao's smile became angry. "Look magic man, if I say I can be a nice girl, I can be. Now how long did you know I was back there?"

"Orphen and I knew you were back there from the moment you crawled under the tarp in the middle of the night!" Wyvern said, causing Cleao to gasp and grab Orphen by the scruff of his shirt since he was the closest. "And you let me stay there?!"

"Can't breathe!"

"Do you know how many low life's and geezers I had to fend off in this wagon last night?"

"Do you need some help there, Orphen?" Majic asked cautiously as Wyvern laughed.

"Yeah, Get her off me!" Orphen said, his voice sounding choked. Majic attempted to pull Cleao off but apparently Orphen touched the wrong place because she screeched and slapped him. "Touch me there again and they'll be calling you Stubby for the rest of your life!" Wyvern laughed again before reaching over and pulling Cleao back towards him, causing her to fall into his lap. "Alright little missy, stop throwing a tantrum and don't kill my friends please!"

Cleao elbowed him in the gut, knocking the air out of him and causing him to let go of her. "Pervert!"

This time it was Orphen who laughed as Wyvern groaned in pain, clutching his stomach. "Trust me Cleao, you're even _less_ his type than you are mine! It was an accident that you fell against him that way."

She huffed, her cheeks a bright red, and turned around, moving away. "Wake me when we get there."


End file.
